Express testing of Slovenia.
The idea of visiting the Republic of Slovenia for a few days has long been ripe in my imagination. It was held back only by the lack of direct flights from Ukraine and quarantine restrictions for the past year and a half. 30.06. 2021 Ryanair announced promotional prices (from 9.99 ЕУ) for flights Kyiv-Vienna-Kyiv until 31.08. To be honest, I did not think particularly seriously about Slovenia at that time, because at that time this country was still closed for tourist trips by citizens of non-EU countries. 15.07. 2021 The Government of Slovenia announced the permission to visit Slovenia by citizens of Ukraine, including for the purpose of tourism. The most favorable dates for trips were August 21-24. Began to study logistical issues. According to the laws of "maliciousness", Ryanair flew from Kyiv to Vienna every day of the week except Saturday, and 21.08 was exactly Saturday.
WizzAir was also not suitable (only Monday and Thursday), UIA canceled its flights to Vienna before better times (perhaps it simply could not stand the competition on this route), there was still Austrian Airlines, but the price for its only daily flight was inhumane for such a short trip (4500+ hryvnias), moreover, the fairly late arrival (4:40 p. m. ) made it difficult to get to Slovenia the same day, as the only available Flixbus flight left for Ljubljana only at 9:40 p. m. , arriving well after midnight. Nevertheless, I still bought a return ticket Vienna-Kyiv (23.19E about 30 days before departure, with the possibility of cancellation and refund to the bonus account for subsequent trips no later than 7 days before the flight). I began to look closely at the Kyiv-Pula summer charters, which also flew on Saturdays. Of course, Flixbus also ran from Pula to Ljubljana.
The price for this charter also started at inhumane levels (4.200+ UAH), but about 3 weeks before the flight, it gradually decreased and 4-5 days before departure it was 2.700-2.900 UAH. The situation changed on 02.08, when Austrian Airlines added a morning flight departing at 06:55 on some dates, including 21.08. Tickets for my date were completely sold out in 3 days. I managed to buy it for UAH 2.266. I bought on the Lufthansa website, because there it was possible to set the hryvnia as the settlement currency, the Austrian one only had a dollar, moreover, at a not very favorable exchange rate at that time. There were no problems with tickets for Flixbus Vienna-Ljubljana, as there were still funds left in the bonus account for the previous year. The return flight from Ljubljana to Vienna was more difficult, as it was at night and did not connect with my return flight. I had to study the website of Austrian Railways (www. oebb. at).
I found two logistics options for the same price: with a transfer at the high Austrian railway station of Villach (only 7 minutes) and in the second largest city of Slovenia, Maribor (33 minutes). I chose the second option because, in my opinion, it was less risky. In addition, 39 minutes after the departure of the Maribor-Vienna train, Flixbus also departed from the station square on the same route. If only I had known that force majeure can occur where you least expect it...
So, having worked full-time on the pre-holiday day of August 20, according to the trolleybus-metro-aeroexpress scheme, he arrived at Boryspil airport around midnight. Terminal D was extremely busy at this late hour, as between 01:00 and 05:00 as many as 6(! ) charter flights to Turkey of various airlines departed, not counting one more regular Turkish Airways flight.
Boarding for my flight was opened unusually early - at 04:20, at the check-in desk they immediately began to demand a negative PCR test (of course, I had it), although my calls to the Austrian Consulate assured me that for transit through Austria (no more than 24 hours) does not need a test, the airline's CC had no information about it at all. "Check-innytsia" studied my test for a long time and meticulously (taken on the morning of August 20, on the way from home to work), registered me for the flight, noting that the antigen test would not be suitable here. Although theoretically, I don't have to go to the counter, since I registered online the day before, 42 hours before departure, and received a boarding pass in the form of a giant QR code in the mail. I wonder if I went to control immediately with my hand luggage, would I be let through? No one demanded a PCR test on control...
As I already mentioned, the flight was operated by Austrian Airlines.
According to the requirements of the state of Austria, entry into the country was possible, including with the presence of masks of the FFP2 standard. A box of masks of the specified standard stood at the beginning of the plane's cabin (in a small technical room between the cockpit and the cabin, and anyone who wished could take an unlimited number of masks for free.
I prepared ahead of time by ordering a FFP2 set of 4 pieces for UAH 98 at "Rosetka". One by one was not sold. Looking ahead, I will say that the presence of FFP2 was not controlled by anyone. The ratio of "ordinary disposable medical mask / FFP2 mask" in Vienna airport passengers was approximately 50:50. As you know, the corporate colors of Austrian Airlines are red and gray, which is also reflected in the uniforms of the flight attendants: the flight attendants were dressed in red dresses, red T-shirts, red tights, red shoes, manicures and ribbons in their hair, of course, were also in the corporate color.
For some reason, I immediately remembered the song of the same name by the Soviet-American rap singer of Ukrainian origin Bohdan Titomir J.
In Vienna, they sat down even 15 minutes behind the scheduled time. At the border control, he immediately presented the bus ticket together with his passport and received a stamp in his passport without any questions. Then it was more interesting. A few days after the announcement of entry for Ukrainians, Slovenia removed from its profile website the list of Ukrainian laboratories whose tests were recognized as valid for entry into the country. Only laboratories of EU countries remained in the list. Therefore, I needed a new test (including antigen) made in the EU for entry. In this situation, the ideal option would be a test done at Vienna airport. There was, of course, such an opportunity (after all, for people! ).
It turns out that there is a Health Center at the Vienna airport, located right behind the NH hotel, where you can get the result for 25 euros and 30 minutes (payment only by card, result only in electronic form). If someone wants to have it in printed form, NH hotel will print it for you for a symbolic 10 euro cents. In the remaining time, I visited the airport stores BILLA, INTERSPAR (why are there normal supermarkets with normal prices only in the airports of German-speaking countries?? ? ) and BIPA (the Austrian analogue of the German chain "dm", although as you know, "Bipa" was founded by people from Odesa ).
Now it's time to go to the bus station. The way to it is first on the S2 to the Wien Mitte station, then change to the U3 and exit at the Erdberg station. I buy tickets in the machine in the tunnel before going down to the platform (4.30 E). There were controllers on S2.
What was very surprising - just one stop from the airport is a huge industrial facility consisting of many pipes and huge containers typical of natural gas deposits, as well as access railway tracks with a large number of gas tankers. Since I had never heard of gas fields in the suburbs of Vienna, this facility was identified by me as an incinerator that converts smoke from burned waste into gas that can then be used as fuel. The journey from the airport to the bus station took me 40 minutes (20 minutes by train, 5 minutes by crossing, 5 minutes waiting for the subway, 6 minutes by subway, 4 minutes getting off the overpass where the Erdberg station is located, to the so-called "platforms A , B, C, D, E, F" of the bus station.
The fact is that Vienna's central bus station is currently under reconstruction and passengers are dropped off/picked up just on the street under the overpass near the posts with the corresponding letters. My bus (from Prague to Rijeka) arrived at 1:20 p. m. and left at 1:38 p. m. (scheduled to depart at 1:40 p. m. ). A total of 11 passengers per 49-seat cabin, and 2 drivers. Bus with Croatian license plates, drivers are also Croatian. The Erdberg district is an industrial suburb of Vienna, literally next to it (the next metro station) is the very interesting Gazometry district, there at the end of the 19th century. Huge brick gas storages of cylindrical shape were built. Now, other methods of preserving natural gas are used, and "gas meters" have been transformed into socio-cultural structures. We even drove past a row of them, but didn't have time to take a picture. Immediately after Vienna, they entered the high-speed autobahn. Stops in Austria were not planned for this flight, but they were.
After every hour-and-a-half drive, drivers stopped for 10 minutes at gas station parking lots. I've been riding Flixbus for a few years now, but I've never experienced this style of travel before. Something reminded me of bus tours 10-15 years ago. The main target audience at such parking lots are bikers and camper van tourists going to the Adriatic coast. I really liked the poster on the tables near the parking lots, which urges not to leave leftovers on the tables, but to throw them into the closable garbage cans. Since wild boars come to the gas station from the surrounding forests...
The closer the bus got to the border, the more the freeway went deeper into the Alps, the surrounding mountains became higher and the views more pastoral, we drove through tunnels several times. At the border with Slovenia, our bus was not stopped at all (that is, my European antigen test was not needed at all).
Impressions of the first kilometers of travel in Slovenia. The country is very agricultural, with many plantations of sunflowers, apples and grapes (according to rumors, there are also olive groves in this area).
There were almost no industrial facilities, in contrast to Austria, where we drove past a small TPP in the Graz area. Once we just drove past a marble quarry
Ljubljana was entered from the north, through the district of new buildings in Bež igrad. Almost at the very beginning - the Central Stadium and the Sports Palace. On the street Dunayska we reach the central bus and railway stations. From the central station to my hotel "B&B Ljubljana Park" is only 800 m. It is better to walk along Kotnikova utca, it is the third street on the left if you stand with your back to the station and count from the monument to General Rudolph Meister. The area is old, approximately 1920-1930 years (judging by the bas-reliefs characteristic of that time). Immediately from the first minutes I get to know the flavor of the Slovenian language:
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"enotno" is literally translated as "pleasant, comfortable".
There are also several modern buildings with shops and a kindergarten on the first floor. And here is my hotel:
14 floors, visible from any point of the Old Town, cost of accommodation 139 euros/3 nights, breakfast extra 10 E. If you come for a few days and don't want to spend a lot of time on moving - that's it. By the way, when looking for a hotel, I noticed that in Ljubljana there are very few hotels in the middle price category (40-80 YE per person), many hostels, and expensive hotels 80+ YE in the business center of the city). I am satisfied with my hotel. It is Saturday evening in the yard, and on Sundays in Ljubljana, all shops are closed, therefore, having learned at the reception the address of a store with extended working hours, I go in search of it, in the district opposite the historic center. The hotel is located on a street with the exotic name of Tabor. Straight down this street.
Among the 2-3 storey buildings, the following building stands out:
For some reason, until now, "Tabor" was associated in me with another human community. And it turns out that "Tabor" can be a sports association
In 10 minutes I reach the store (open from Monday to Saturday 3 7 to 21), it is a store of the most widespread and for some reason the most expensive chain in the country "Mercator". Approximate price level: grapes 1.89E/kg, tomatoes 3.20E/kg, cheeses 1.40E/0.2kg, water 0.6E/1.5l, ice cream 0.75E/0.1kg. Many products are made in Croatia. It has its own bakery and cooking. After that, already at dusk, I reach the historical center through Iliriyska and Komenskoho streets. In my opinion, it starts from Primož a Trubara street, which leads to one of the visiting cards of Ljubljana - the Dragon Bridge. On this street there are many cafes, inexpensive restaurants, including ethnic cuisine, there is a second-hand shop and a vinyl record store (suddenly someone is interested).
Trubara Street goes through the intersection to the central square of the city - Preš erna Square, where the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation is located and directly the monument to Franz Preš erna, the national poet of Slovenia, the author of the national anthem. Several pedestrian streets lead from the square in different directions, and one corner of the square overlooks the embankment of the Ljubljanica river, namely at the place over which three ancient stone bridges were built. On the square and bridges of that warm Saturday evening, some kind of city celebration was taking place, there were many street musicians, amateur DJs, small "floating bars" floated down the river, actually large motor boats, on which a structure with a bar counter and a small space for passengers and awning:
A trampoline was installed on one of the bridges and a group trampoline show (competition? ) was taking place:
From the embankment there is a good view of the Ljubljana Castle, which I will try to get to the day after tomorrow:
On both sides of the embankment there are many cafes, tables only on the street. Returning back along the other side of Ljubljana, past the famous Colonnade, which also houses restaurants:
A modern "glass" bridge (a bridge with a transparent floor) is located between Trimostovy and the Dragon Bridge, on the railing of which couples in love hang locks as a sign of the inviolability of their love. The keys, of course, are thrown from the bridge into the water J. At the beginning and end of the bridge itself, there are abstract sculptures in the typical Ljubljana style of "light descent" (the author is unknown), in this style the monument to R. Meyster I mentioned and the sculptures in the park were created "Tivoli".
On the morning of the next day after breakfast (the buffet table is very diverse - sliced cheese, sausages, hams, sausages, omelets, boiled eggs, pates, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, cottage cheese, bread, two types of sweet rolls, two types of juices, jams, honey, oranges, apples), I go to the railway station. Today I plan to see the 2 most famous sights in Slovenia - Postojna Cave and Predjam Castle. After reading online reviews about long queues, especially on weekends, I decided to buy tickets online. Chose the time for 11:00. I paid (34.90E combined ticket), but when the ticket arrived in the mail, it said that you need to be at the entrance to the cave no later than 30 minutes. Based on this, I built logistics. So, the train is at 08:15 with arrival at 09:20 in Postojna. According to reviews, it is no more than 1.5 km from the station to Pechera. I'll get there in an hour. There is an interesting story with the tickets. When trying to buy online, the price of a ticket is from 5.80 to 7.
There are 30 (depending on whether it is a domestic or international train). But when the day before, after getting off the bus, I went to the ticket office at the station and asked if there were tickets for the chosen train - the cashier told me the price was 1.40 E! Miracle! . The ticket also looked strange - a plastic card and a receipt. Similarly, for the return trip - on the website of the bus company, a ticket directly from Pechera to Ljubljana was offered at a price of 6 Е, but when boarding with the driver, it cost 1.30 Е. The only bad thing is that this bus runs only 2 times a day. So, I'm at the train station. There are surprisingly many tracks (no less than 12), remote ones can be reached either by riding on special tracks or by an underground passage, but it is at the opposite end of the platform.
Trains in Slovenia are divided into domestic:
and international :
Opicina is already Italy.
I'm going on the domestic route.
The composition of the train is short, 2-3 cars, the structure is continuous, the seats are soft, there are conductor controllers. There is a bottle of disinfectant near each door. For control, the controller requires a plastic card, she is not interested in a receipt. The necessary information has been read, but since there is only 1 trip on the card, does it make sense to use it further? Does the passenger-tourist remember? Uneconomical and impractical from the point of view of ecology. Immediately after Ljubljana, the train goes deeper into the mountains, the views are mainly small villages on the slopes, it is difficult to break up a garden and a vegetable garden in the mountains. A lot of ancient stone bridges:
While there is time, I am thinking about Slovenia. It is not for nothing that it is included in the Balkan countries. Ethnically, in my subjective opinion, Slovaks are closer to Czechs and Slovaks than to Croats and Serbs.
The Slovenian language has more words from Czech and Slovak than Croatian, although for me it is more difficult to understand than the 2 mentioned above. And among the surnames of both contemporaries and historical figures, Central European surnames are more popular than Balkan ones. For example, Jozef Pleč nik (famous Slovenian architect, many buildings were built in Vienna and Prague according to his designs), Valentin Vodnik (church and educational figure), Herman Potochnik (inventor), Anton Slomš ek (church figure). And Franz Preschern and Rudolf Meister are generally of Austrian/German origin. The theory of the closeness of Slovenes to Slovaks and Czechs is confirmed by the presence in Ljubljana of at least two streets named after famous historical figures of the Czech Republic: Jan Masaryk and Jan-Amos Comenius. An hour and 15 minutes passed imperceptibly behind my thoughts, and here I am at the Postojna railway station (the departure was delayed by 10 minutes).
The station is on a slope and you can go down to the town by rather steep stairs. On 1 Travnya Street (which is constantly winding), I try to get to the center, orienting myself on a map printed from the Internet. It's Sunday morning, the streets are completely deserted. Finally, I reach a large intersection next to a bus station and a large shopping center. Further, a sharp turn and I already see the sign of the hotel "Triglav", from it there are already signs in the direction of the cave. The road is comfortable, with sidewalks on both sides, and benches for resting. The house is mostly old. I remembered this one with old wooden blinds, I have not seen such in our country:
And here is the Cave. I didn't count the mileage, the whole way took me 40 minutes.
At 10:24 I approach the controller at the entrance, she sees the time on my ticket and asks to come in 20-30 minutes.
So, the information about the need to arrive 30 minutes before the session is like some kind of joke. There is just time to look around. The entrance to the Cave is on the hill, under the mountain massif, near several souvenir shops and cafes, including self-service. A little further - two buildings of the four-star hotel "Jama". The best selection of souvenirs is in the shop closest to the entrance. There I also buy a calendar with views of Slovenia for the next year (6.95 EUR), I have not seen other calendars anywhere. The Pivka river flows from under the mountain, which actually carved the caves in the villages. A small water mill and a dam were built on it:
Across the river, there are three large parking lots for tourists - separate for cars, tourist buses and trailers (campers, motorhomes):
Tourist buses with Czech, Hungarian, Italian, German license plates. The campers are mostly German.
Now my time has come. I enter the cave with a ticket. A free audio guide is issued at the entrance. Available in Slovenian, Italian, English, German, French and Chinese. There is no Ukrainian : -(. I hope, temporarily. Trip plan: first the train takes tourists to areas that can be walked on foot, then tourists move at an arbitrary pace from one attraction to another at each of the attractions marked with numbers, they are waiting "local guide", who tells about this part of the cave and the tourists go on. Until they make a full circle and go out again to the train. Which will take them to the exit of the Cave. The temperature in the Cave is +10 C, on the street +30 C, therefore, the ideal clothing is an autumn jacket that can be hidden in a backpack. The cave was carved out of the limestone layer by the waters of the Pivka River over thousands of years, and the indicated figures arose over thousands of years thanks to a certain microclimate in the cave itself.
The trains look like this:
The independent tour of the cave with an audio guide took me about 2 hours. Took more than 100 photos (some with flash, some not, although there were signs prohibiting photos with flash, but most tourists still used it).
Here I will present only the most significant (in my opinion)
Calvary (the highest point of the Cave above sea level. It is no secret that there is a height difference throughout the Cave, the tourist trail leads up, then down). The largest stalactites are located on it: 
2. White hall (stalactites of an unrealistic white color due to impurities in the rock):
3. Pink hall (similarly, due to impurities):
4. Curtain:
5. Column and Diamond:
6. OrgAn:
Russian bridge (built by soldiers of the Russian army captured in the First World War):
Almost at the end of the exposition, there is a monitor on which the life of the only living creatures capable of living in such natural conditions is broadcast - proteas, which look like small white lizards. Photographing them is strictly prohibited. There is a souvenir shop where, in particular, you can buy a postcard and a postage stamp (the postage stamp, in particular, was invented in Slovenia) and drop it into the mailbox.
The excursion left unforgettable impressions.
It's lunchtime, so I decided to try the 3 most advertised dishes of Slovak cuisine: "Krania sausage" and "kremna rezina" in nearby public catering establishments. Unfortunately, all the above establishments were more like fast food and only the second course was on the menu.
"Silicon rubber":
is a cake, stored in the refrigerator, has an apple flavor. The price, taking into account the touristic nature of the place, is 4.50 E. In Ljubljana, it is probably cheaper, but I did not specifically look for it.
Further on the free shuttle bus
I'm going to Predyam Castle. The bus stops near the Jama Hotel,
the stop is marked with a corresponding column and benches under the awning. Upon boarding, they check the availability of a ticket to the Castle. The distance is 9 km, the bus covers it in 15-20 minutes. It is absolutely impossible to walk, not so much because of the distance, but because of the lack of sidewalks and pedestrian areas. Either rocks/cliffs or courtyards of private houses begin immediately behind the road.
Predyamskyi Grad is also a kind of touristic city, there is a parking lot for buses and a parking lot for cars (among the latter I saw one with Ukrainian license plates (AR - Transcarpathia).
There are no hotels and souvenir shops, only cafes and restaurants.
"Open, Owl, the Bear has come. " Even two
Not far from the castle, a part of the lawn was occupied by restorers in historical costumes who are forging and riveting something. But nevertheless they made a catapult:
Where to shoot from it is not clear. Maybe just made for paid photos. And the castle itself looks like this:
Its peculiarity is that it is built in the rock, and part of its walls are actually rock.
An audio guide is also provided at the entrance. It is also cool in the castle. The steps are hewn out of the rock, authentic in the Middle Ages, very high:
I will not tell the story of the capture of the Castle, I will only mention that it was not without treachery and a catapult.
Several medieval interiors:
Hall of medieval weapons:
View from the tower of the Castle:
Medieval drawbridge over the moat:
An hour and a half is enough for the castle.
Then on the shuttle again to the Cave. I still had an hour and a half left before the bus to Ljubljana, which I spent just enjoying the fresh mountain air and the scenery.
The bus from Postojna Pechera to Ljubljana also takes about 1 hour. It goes through the mountains, along, in places, a very serpentine-like track. Sometimes he visits villages and small towns.
It is around 8 pm in Ljubljana. Unlike Saturday, the center is completely empty and quiet. Only near the University, a rehearsal of some theater festival is taking place on the big stage. I tasted the local heavy ice cream (prices from 1.40 Е to 2.50 Е), I chose the most non-trivial one in my opinion (not any mango, fig or rose, but plum with cognac.
As it turned out, nothing special).
Plans for the next day: exploring the city center and testing Ljubljana shopping in two shopping malls far from the center: "BTC" and "CITY-center". Both of them can be reached from the central railway station by buses 27 and 12, respectively. The bus fare payment system in Ljubljana is very inconvenient for tourists: the driver does not sell tickets, tickets are written on a card that can be purchased for 2E at newsstands and gas stations. When boarding the bus, the card must be validated at the validator next to the driver. Where to return the used card before leaving Ljubljana is unknown. At least at the bus station and the railway station, it is impossible to return the card L. The path to them runs through new residential areas:
Some houses on the ground floor have storerooms (cellars):
So first I visited "BTC".
Placed inconveniently. It occupies a large area, on which a dozen hangars have been built, somewhat reminiscent of a large goods market. At the very end of which there are more or less interesting shops: C&A, LiDL, EuroSpin, etc. In "CITY-center", on the contrary, all shops (except "Hofer") are located in one building: Primark, H&M, Deichmann, CCC, etc. Around noon, after shopping, I returned to the hotel. It's lunch time. For lunch, I still decided to try "Krania sausage". The most likely place to do this is the central market on V. Vodnyka Square. But due to the morning rain, the market was no longer working around 3 p. m. (or maybe it didn't open that day at all? ).
That is why I decided to try this specialty in one of the coffee shops in Colonnade for takeaway. It cost 6.80 E + 1.30 E wine:
The next plan is to take the funicular to the castle "Ljublyanskyi Grad". The funicular station is located right there, on the square B.
Vodnika (by the way, the surname of this historical person is translated from Slovenian as "guide, one who leads". I don't know, maybe it's a pseudonym). But on the way to the funicular, I saw the following devices:
As it turned out, these are vending machines for milk, medicine and (attention! ) chicken eggs in trays!
How it works (on the example of a milk vending machine): first you buy a container for milk in the machine (0.3E plastic, 1.0E glass), then you choose how much milk you need (0.1L - 0.1E), insert coins and press the "confirm" button ". The machine accepts only coins and does not issue change. The Ljubljana Puppet Theater is also located on the square in front of the funicular:
Funicular:
Cost of the trip: OW 2.20 Е, RT 4 Е.
As you obviously guessed, the castle is located on a mountain, and in the mountain under the castle there is a car tunnel that goes from the other side of the rock to another part of the city. The street leading from the Dragon Bridge to the tunnel is called Kopitarzheva.
It is interesting that the most famous hockey player in Slovenia (Stanley Cup winner) is named Andrzej Kopitarj. It is possible that it was named after him. Local residents could not confirm this.
A ride on the funicular (and in fact it is an elevator with transparent walls takes up to 5 minutes and here I am on the walls of the Castle. The views of the city (mainly on the modern part) are very beautiful:
There are several museums in Grad. There are partly modern extensions:
Ancient Artifacts:
There is also an exposition of wines:
Entrance is free, its purpose is unknown.
I went back down on foot, to be honest, I don't recommend it, the road is unequipped, without a fence. Then I walk along the street. Cyril and Methodius (parallel to the embankment).
It turns out that the Ukrainian and Slovenian languages also have common words:
There are a lot of souvenir shops on this street, the largest selection is in the first one on the right (if you go to St. Nicholas Cathedral).
Here you can taste "Krania sausage" at the lowest prices (from EUR 5.90).
St. Nicholas Cathedral:
I gradually reach Town Hall Square:
Then, through Trimostovya, I go to Presherna Square. A monument to the poet has been installed on it.
Further, my path runs past the Church of the Annunciation and the House of Hauptmann
on Wolfova Street (Wolf?
), along which I reach Congress Square. The main building of the University of Ljubljana rises monumentally here, surrounded on all sides by the busts of famous Slovenian figures of science and technology, somehow connected with it.
The Philharmonic building is very close by:
After that, I continue my walk along the street. Gosposka and on the one parallel to it, Vehova, I admire the unusual beauty of the facade of the Academy of Arts building:
Then I turn at a right angle to Grigorciceva ulica, my next destination is the Government Quarter. On the way - I cross an intersection with a wide and very busy street Slovenska cesta (in my opinion, "cesta" is translated from Slovenian and Slovak as "boulevard". At the intersection - I see such a strange apartment building:
Very strange style, there are similar ones in Kyiv, built in the 1980s.
Soon the Government Quarter begins, which is interesting, opposite it - of course, a school.
I turn again at a right angle and come out onto Presernova cesta (Presernova cesta). The area is very unique - one side of the street is occupied by monumental buildings, the other by small 2-3 story stone cottages (but both are clearly from the 19th century). The entire quarter is occupied by the residence of the President of Slovenia:
After two blocks on the other side on the left is a building in the courtyard of which huge flags of Slovenia, the EU and NATO are installed. As you probably guessed, this is the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
On the right – Republic Square with two “monster houses”:
(in that on the left is the Central Technical Library of Slovenia, on the right is one of the commercial banks).
Even further - the National Museum of Slovenia (actually - a historical museum):
Then a little deeper - the National Opera, to which a black office box is defiantly attached (I managed to choose an angle from which the modern extension is minimally visible):
And even further, on the other side of Chankarzheva pedestrian street, is the National Gallery:
I turn to Chankarzheva. On the left - the Museum of Modern Art:
The shape of the building is non-standard and probably best corresponds to the content of the museum.
I wanted to say a few more words about modern art in Liuyulian. Maybe even super modern. During my two days of stay, I did not notice graffiti in Ljubljana at all. So I saw isolated inscriptions on the walls, but no serious works. It turned out that the city authorities created an art object in an abandoned industrial zone on Metelkova Street for all "graffiti" (grafomaniacs? ) and turned it into an open-air museum of the same name (Art-center Metelkova):
Chankarzheva Street behind the Opera House and the National Gallery leads to the perpendicular Beethoven Street. The last buildings along Chankarzheva Street are luxury multi-star hotels built at the beginning of the 20th century, or even more precisely, before the First World War (Modern style, in my opinion).
At the corner of Beethoven is probably the only public administrative institution in Ljubljana that works 24/7 (not counting medical, military and police institutions):
This is the main post office of Ljubljana.
Opposite - the National Bank of Slovenia:
It smoothly transitions (or is it a continuation) of one of the visiting cards of the city:
This is the Skyscraper (Nebotycnik in Slovenian).
Only 13 floors, but for its time (built in 1909) it was the second tallest residential building in Europe. Now there are luxury boutiques, luxury restaurants, and luxury apartments on the top two floors.
On the opposite side - as if in opposition to the ancient classic National Bank, an irregularly shaped building rises (but no less impressive is the building of the Hungarian OTP Bank):
Then I go to the parallel Diamantova street. The name justifies the name from the very first house:
Whose bas-reliefs are these - I don't know, but they are very impressive.
And what do you think of such a "diamond":
The last diamond for today is the building of the Supreme Court of Slovenia (the street is still the same):
That's all, enough of architectural gems for today. It's already evening, time to go back to the hotel. Early departure tomorrow.
A few more words about shopping in Slovenia. 5-6 years ago, during one of my trips to neighboring Hungary, I bought blueberry juice in a store (they don't produce it here). Blueberry is spelled "Afonya" in Hungarian. The juice was in a liter glass bottle. Today in the store "LiDL" noticed juice, also in a liter glass jar with the inscription "Aronia". When I opened it in the evening, I realized that the taste is not blueberry, but very sour and tart. The Internet suggested that "Aronia" from Slovenian is a black-fruited mountain ash (we don't produce it here either).
It turns out to be very useful, but consuming in large quantities can lead to a sharp drop in blood pressure. Read labels carefully before buying
The story about the delicacies of Slovenia would not be complete without Slovenian honey. Slovenia positions itself as the birthplace of professional beekeeping. After all, it is believed that the first manual for beekeepers that has reached our time was written by the Slovenian Anton Janš a (back in the 18th century.
) And private apiaries are located on the roofs of many high-rise buildings. Therefore, the choice of honey in trade networks is very wide. In addition to traditional herbs and acacia, Slovenians also use the features of their ecosystem to extract honey. Given that a significant percentage of the country's territory is covered by forests, Slovenians managed to get forest honey:
The last day of the trip. Breakfast at the hotel from -6:30 a. m. on weekdays and from 7:00 a. m. on weekends. This is just right for me as my train to Maribor is at 08:05. We drive through the mountains again, I enjoy the views of Slovenia, and I want to compare it with Switzerland, although it is unlikely - the mountains are lower, and there are no snow-covered peaks. But small mountain lakes and rivers are present. In Maribor at 09:53 (according to the schedule they should have been at 09:48). I didn't like the Maribor station from the first minute, something was wrong here.
First, the boards above the platforms (which should indicate the direction and time of the train) are turned off, secondly, all information through the loudspeaker is only in Slovenian, thirdly, the station employees do not speak English either (in Maribor, the station employees speak English). The Zagreb - Vienna train should depart from Maribor at 10:21, arriving at the final station (Vienna Main) at 14:02. After one of the announcements, there was a cry of disappointment among the crowd of passengers (and most of them were also from the Ljubljana train). It turns out that our train is late for 40-50 minutes! Taking into account that my flight Vienna-Kyiv was at 17:00, and the train interval between the Vienna station and the airport is 30 minutes, plus 20 minutes for the transfer itself, the situation was becoming very serious for me. I began to seriously think about the Flixbus flight (the same one at 11:00). The only thing holding me back was insufficient knowledge of the city of Maribor. Just the night before, I read on the Internet that on the 23rd.
In 08, a strike by train drivers began on the railways of Germany, it was thought that its echoes reached quiet Slovenia as well. Everything turned out to be much simpler. One of the groups of passengers unexpectedly reacted to my accent. It turned out that most of them are natives of Ukraine, and the head of the family has been living in Maribor for a long time. According to him, this train (Zagreb-Vienna, remember) is 35-45 minutes late EVERYDAY. Prč ina is a very long border and customs control on the Croatian-Slovenian border. But he was never more than 45 minutes late. Having made the appropriate approximation, I decided that my chances were working. The train arrived at 10:54. Jumping into the train was a matter of seconds. At 10:56 they already left. There were surprisingly few free seats. Class 2 carriage was a compartment for 6 seats. He settled in a compartment with his new acquaintances.
A very interesting young couple: she is Ukrainian from Lviv, but lived in Slovenia for several years, he is Spanish from Bilbao. Given my longstanding fascination with northern Spain in general and the Basque Country in particular, there were more than enough topics for conversation. And almost four hours of travel flew by imperceptibly and allowed a little distraction from the lateness of the train. The views outside the windows also made me forget about the bad from time to time. As a result, the train did not catch up with anything on the way and arrived at the station "Vienna-Holovny" (Wien-Hbf) at 14:36. On which track did we arrive and from which is the nearest train to the airport. I only knew the time - 14:40. Jumping onto the platform, I almost reflexively looked at the schedule (a good tradition of Austrian and German railways is to post the schedule all over the station on each platform). We arrived on the 5th track (and according to the schedule we should have arrived on the 9th), and the train to the airport left from the 10th track. It took 3 minutes to reach the indicated platform.
Everything is fine. I made it. Expected at the airport at 15:00. Next, a short search for Ryanair check-in desks (169-176 turned out to be all the way to Terminal 3, and half an hour standing in line (passengers were registered for all Ryanair flights at these desks). There was even time left for duty-free, but it is expensive in Vienna. We flew out at 30 minutes later than the scheduled time, but were delayed by only 10. The board was again 100% full, a team of stewards and stewardesses from Malta worked on the flight. It was clear from the first minutes that they were beginners. For some reason, they started not with drinks and food. But with corporate lottery. The carts rolled very slowly and clumsily, and from both ends of the plane at the same time. And without letting the passengers through, because of which a crowd formed and the passengers expressed their displeasure in different languages.
On landing, I managed to see through the porthole a large city in the middle of the forest, which is crossed by a narrow river, then another smaller city, already without a river, and then the airport.
After some thought, the indicated cities were identified by me as Chernihiv and Brovary. Considering the geographical position of the first one, I was not sure that we did not fly over the territory of Belarus : -(.
The border is very fast, 80% of passengers provided vaccination certificates. People like me installed the VDOMA application under the guidance of the customs officer. In the morning of the next day, traditionally on the way to work, he passed the test (this time it was an express test for antigen), after 30 minutes he received a negative result. And another 3 hours later, the application received a message about the end of self-isolation. Now the journey is finally over. See you soon, Slovenia!
